October 2018

01 October 2018

One camper came in last night and set their campertrailer up in the back corner as the rain continued overnight. We awoke to a cloudy but promising day and set off early care of the time change.

Stopping only for roadwork's just out of Caiguna we made good time despite the slight headwind and occasional shower, and despite the promising start, the cloudy skies ahead didn't hold much promise for a sunny day after all.

We had a chat with the driver of a caravan that overtook us when we noticed his Bruce Rock Stickers on his ute and caravan. Then we had realised we might be able to get airborne around the old Telegraph Station at Balladonia, but of course the weather heard us discussing it and sent the rain in to thwart that idea.

Stopping in at Balladonia Roadhouse for fuel ($2.03 per litre) we managed to meet Barry, the man from Bruce Rock before setting off again, this time looking for a campsite.

Nullarbor Tree

We found this beauty while checking out a rest area, despite eventually not camping there.

Even the idea of getting some more nice tree photo's was thwarted, not by the weather this time, but the soft, freshly cleaned up and very soft edges of roadway, so it was onto Newman Rocks for the campsite and maybe some photography.

Pulling in and taking the wet muddy track we made our way past one other camper among the trees and onto the rocky area itself. Of course the wind was quite strong in the exposed area on the rock so we found a nice sheltered spot nearby and settled in.

Despite the weather it was time to stretch the legs and to get the camera out for some exercise as well.

Newman Rocks Scene

Just one of the nice scenes around Newman Rocks.

Spotted Tree

The spots on the bark caught my eye and I had to shoot it.

04 October 2018

Waking to nothing but birdsong in the morning was yet another great way to wake up, though the silence was punctured occasionally by a truck going down the highway just half a kilometre or so away.

Packing up and heading out we found that where there was one camper under the trees when we came in, now there were three. Back onto the highway and heading ever closer to Norseman we stopped in at a few rest areas to check out the trees for photographs and also kept an eye out along the way, the rain continuing on and off as we went.

Roadside Scene

A good spot to try a few photographic techniques.

Just before Norseman we stopped at Jimberlana Hill for morning tea, clearing out some idiots fire pit from the main driving area and then, after deciding not to camp, we made our way down into Norseman and without even going into town, turned right towards Kalgoorlie, and eventually stopping for the night at the free camp in Kambalda.

Being first in we had the pick of spots. Kevin, the local Ranger turned up to welcome us to the area and to make sure we knew all about the place and where to put our shopping receipts etc. He was very friendly and welcoming and was doing his town proud.

Heading into Kalgoorlie the next morning for our passenger door to be looked at, we pulled up outside the Mazda Dealers and then after unhooking left the ute to be looked at. For some reason the passenger door would not unlock and after a little while the mechanics found the reason why. It seems that Mazda have a safety mechanism installed for people travelling on their own which, after pressing both buttons on the remote for 4 seconds, makes only the drivers door operable from the outside, and we had accidentally activated it. So problem fixed we hooked back up and headed off into town to give the rig a wash at the car wash, do some shopping, fuel up at the cheapest spot in town and then headed out to our usual spot atop the hill at Lake Douglas.

Lake DOuglas CampTrees

More tree's, in keeping with this months evolving theme.
Love these trees in boots (or stockings).

After yet another great camp at Lake Douglas we were back on the highway where we stopped at Southern Cross for morning tea and then made our way to Westonia where we have snagged a spot at the small (9 sites), but very pleasant caravan park. One of the first things we noticed was the new amenities block which is an excellent replacement for the old one.

07 October 2018

So after a couple of wet days at Westonia, and a chance to get some bush photography in, we left town and headed towards Northam, via...

Gimlet Trees

Gimlet tree's twist as they grow making for an interesting sight.

Westonia White Trees

A small grove of white trunked trees among the gimlets.

Westonia WHite Gum Red

The contrast between the red bark and light trunks was worth a photo.

So after getting back to the highway we followed it and the Indian Pacific Train as it makes its way into Perth from Sydney. Stopping in the industrial estate for some fuel that was 6 cents a litre cheaper than in town it was then time for some food shopping and to head down the road to Bruce Rock to check the crops in the area, and to see what was happening on the site we work at.

After observing the rather ordinary condition of the site, we figured there was going to be a lot of work to get it ready for the harvest and headed off towards York, eventually stopping in a large gravel pit not far from Greenhills, where the mosquito's were very, very, very thick and getting a sunset photograph over the area meant losing quite a lot of blood.

Breenhills Camp View

The sunset photograph across the road that cost a lot of blood to get.

Waking this morning to an overcast day and the sound of birdsong, only interrupted by the occasional vehicle going by, and, the local farmer herding his sheep along the road and into a paddock.

We packed up and made our way to Northam where we have taken up residence behind the rather run down, and hardly used accommodation block at the CBH site, where getting in and level was an adventure in itself. The next two days are for re-qualification training on Confined Space and Tag/Lock Out before the harvest starts, and which has to be done every three years.

18 October 2018

We are now a couple of weeks past when we updated last so thought we had better put a few lines together. The training went well and then it was onto Bruce Rock to start work. Cleaning and setting up the site and generally getting things ready was okay, despite having to clean out the elevator boot pits. But there was also some time to get the drone up for a sunset photo.

Crop Lines

Crop lines in the paddock next to the site. Taken from 8m above the crop.

Then Joanne was seconded to go to Korbelka, a site about 24km's away where she spent the week filling trucks with grain to be sent to the port. In the meantime I kept working with Peter, the new site manager at Bruce Rock.

So with most of the work done at Bruce Rock and Joanne still going to Korbelka each day it was my turn to be seconded to another site, to get it set up, so Peter, our site manager and I went to Narambeen, some 20 odd kilometres away to set the stackers up and to clean boot pits, and so it will be for the rest of the week.

The roster for next week shows us all going to Muntadgin, about 43 km away to outload that site ready for the harvest, which with the crops turning colour is only a week or two away. So it is all go.

31 October 2018

Well the harvest is underway. The week started off slowly but gave us time to get the remaining tasks for the site set up done. Sample after sample came in and then there was one truck, then another as the trickle gained momentum. The hot weather meant acclimatising was instant as was getting used to long trousers, sleeved shirts and safety boots.

Mark Twain once said "...years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do that by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - and so we will.